This was a very unfortunate and sad situation.But I’m convinced it could have been avoided by simply complying with the officers demands.Based on what I saw the officer was exercising extreme restraint.
More restraint than what I’ve seen from some other officers.Some officers would have unjustifiably shot him in the back just for fleeing.Much less running with a gun while pointing the gun in the officers direction.
He warned the fleeing man/suspect over and over repeatedly to drop the gun.But the man kept telling the officer he didn’t have a gun when it was obvious he did.
The officer had no idea what his motives were in regards to having the gun.What was he supposed to do just let the man walk free without answering questions about what he was intending to do with the gun?
Especially after getting a call about a man in the neighborhood firing shots in the air.Was the guy on some kind of mind altering drug or intoxicated?That’s a strong possibility because his behavior was strange and erratic.
He then appeared to turn in the officers direction while appearing to begin to aim the gun at the officer.What do I take from this?The officer was simply doing his job while giving the fleeing man ample opportunity to de-escalate the situation by dropping the gun and complying.But most importantly what I take from this is the officer was trying to insure he went home to his wife and kids that day.Was deadly force necessary? To honestly answer that question put yourself in the officers position. I will just leave it at that.